Aesthedes graphic design workstation on eBay

OK, talked to the owner today. Apparently there was more in the auction than was obvious from the ebay listing: - 3 20" Barco monitors (PAL video format) - Main cabinet (approx. 450 lbs with box steel frame) - Operator's console/table (approx 50. lbs, with membrane keypad and tablet) - Printer: possibly made by Kodak, about 2'x2' with stand, has color resolution to 1/100" - Scanner: unknown brand, a separate peripheral from the main unit - Some sort of side piece for the unit, not shown in the photos on the net, that is driven by either an XT or an Apple ][. I believe this is some sort of console processor, but its unclear. - Large external power supply assembly - 3 totes full of manuals, etc. The totes contain the contents of a 40 hr. training course that tells you how to operate the unit from start to finish. Apparently the idea of training 40 hours to run the thing put off the current owner so he never turned it on. It was mothballed in the mid 90s and has been kept in a good location, but moved around several times after being decomissioned. The current owner told me a number of stories about this unit; I have not verified any of them. This particular system was used to create a large mail-order catalog (~1000 pgs) in the 80s and 90s to allow for rapid turnaround on late changing details in the catalog (product discontinued, price changed, etc.). The system was the result of a cooperative design effort between Apple, Kodak and Xerox to create the ultimate system for 2D graphic design. It originally came with two large drum scanners (SciTek brand), but since those were easily resold, they are not bundled with the Aesthedes. Later, Apple put together a system for the same market that addressed ~85% of the functionality of the Aesthedes for less than 10% of the cost. However, some graphic designers claim that the Aesthedes is still one of the best systems there is for graphic design. Supposedly the "Peanuts" strip was rendered with this system at some point (why, I don't know, it seems totally overkill!). The current owner came by the system because the company that purchased it went out of business and couldn't find a buyer for it. The current owner obtained the system along with a bunch of other equipment in a package deal from the company as it liquidated its assets. I'm guessing this thing is going to need a bonafide wood crate for the main unit at the very least. There's a Craters & Freighters in Minneapolis, so I'm going to get a quote from them. I would not be surprised if packing and freight shipping was in the 2-3K$ range, hopefully it will be more on the 2 side and less on the 3 side. -- "The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" -- DirectX 9 draft available for download <http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/book/download/index.html> Legalize Adulthood! <http://blogs.xmission.com/legalize/>